1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a corrugated tube for use as a cover of a wire harness and to a wire harness having such a tube as a cover. The invention is especially applicable to wire harnesses for use in automotive vehicles, e.g. automobiles.
2. Description of Related Art
As shown in FIG. 7 of the accompanying drawings, in order to prevent a bundle (W) of electric wires constituting a wire harness which is installed between connectors C in the interior of a vehicle from being damaged by interference of the bundle (W) of the electric wires with component parts of the vehicle body positioned in proximity thereto, a cylindrical corrugated tube 1 made of synthetic resin and having corrugations formed by annular concave and convex surfaces formed on its periphery alternately in the lengthwise direction is installed on selected portions of the bundle (W) of the electric wires.
JP-A-8-331728 discloses a tube to protect a vehicle wire harness at a hinge region of a vehicle body. The tube has a cross-section of race-track shape and is corrugated only at a central portion which is to flex.
Although the corrugated tube on the wire harness has a damage-preventing function, it is necessary to distribute the tube in the space in the interior of the vehicle in correspondence to the shape of the wire harness and install it invisibly. Further, there is a demand that the wire harness is installed in the smallest possible space to leave free as much useful space as possible in the interior of the vehicle. Therefore, it is difficult for the conventional cylindrical corrugated tube of FIG. 7 to satisfy the requirements.